The Monarchs, of Santa Ana’s Mater Dei, beat the BHHS girls’ basketball team for the second year in a row, 80-63, in Saturday’s CIF-SS playoff game at Ocean View High.

Unlike last season, when the Monarchs defeated Beverly Hills by 39 points in the final, the Normans played a much better first half this time.

The Normans kept an up-tempo pace, shot well and were able to keep Mater Dei from effectively applying its full-court press.

Continuing the success of the BHHS wrestling team’s   2010 season, two varsity wrestlers have advanced to the fourth round/second day of the CIF Southern Section Champ-ionships.

Romeo Soofiani, a senior who wrestled in the heavyweight division, was this year’s Pioneer League Champion in his weight class.

Armand Farrokh, a junior who wrestled in the 140 lb. weight class, will be back to compete next year.

Soofiani, Farrokh and many other BHHS varsity wrestlers placed (first, second or third) in multiple competitions this season, with several taking home multiple gold medals.

BHHS wrestling continues to grow in strength, depth and popularity under the leadership of Head Coach Mark Mead, a BHHS English teacher (who is nationally recognized in Judo, Sambo and martial arts) and his assistant coaching staff.

At the BHHS Soccer team’s Senior Night, the last game of the season, departing seniors took time to pose with their moms. From left are: Jacqueline and Parsa Peykar, Sheryl and Spencer Weissberg, Ellen and Aaron Horwitz, Lynne and Zach Fiedler/Gallagher, Taly and Yonaton Ginsberg, Colleen and Russell Sternshein, Sabin and Jonas Brock, Caroline and Aaron Soleimani, Melanie and Willy Cook/Woods, and Carolyn and AJ Karon. The team ended its season on a high note beating Culver City at home, 2-0. “The good news is that both goals and assists were by seniors,” said Coach Steve Rappaport. The first goal was by Soleimani, assisted by Peykar and the second goal was by Brock, assisted by Sternshein. Rappaport summed up the season saying, “It was an unlucky season. We didn’t give up a lot of goals, but we didn’t score enough either.” The team ended the season 9-10-4 and finished fourth in league. “It  basically boiled down to one more tie or win and we would have been in the playoffs,” Rappaport said. “As Coach (Jason) Newman said, I should have scheduled a few easier games.” The team fell 1-0 to three schools all ranked in the final top 10 for division 1. “We played well, but those loses hurt a lot.” To earn a playoff spot, the Normans needed to finish fourth or better and with a .500 or better record. “We did the fourth,” Rappaport. “We had a lot of 0-0 games or 1-0 loses. We were in every game.” The only exception was a 5-1 loss during winter break. “Otherwise we could have won every game; it’s tough, we came so close. The seniors leaving are a great bunch of kids,” Rappaport said. He singled out Brock, Woods and Weissberg who “controlled the back field. I’m proud of how this team fought, and how they ended the season,” Rappaport said. Eliminated in the next-to-last game and denied the playoffs, “my kids didn’t give up and went out and played well in the last game,” Rappaport said. “They have that to remember, they went out winners.”                                             &nbs p;           &n bsp;                                     &nb sp; Photo by Jonathan Brock

Perhaps it was meant to be—that a team called the Navy Seals—would survive a driving rainstorm, cold, wind and darkness to win the Beverly Hills AYSO Region 76 Girls Under 12 championship earlier this month on the BHHS soccer field.

After defeating a strong Maroon 15 team 2-0 in the first semi-final game, the Seals advanced to play the Krushers, who defeated the Diablos by the same 2-0 score in the second semi-final game.

The Seal’s defense shone in the semi-final and championship games, led by stoppers Justine Elitzur and Scarlett Wildasin, sweeper Isabella Lopez, and outside defenders Noa Lewis, Noor Kohanim, Skyler Douek and Gillian Gurney. Right forward Alex Schirn scored both goals for the Seals in the semi-final on passes from center midfielder Jackie Schaeffer.

A dual meet is a school vs. school event where all 14 players on the team, from the 103- to 285-pound weight classes, wrestle against opponents  of equal weight from the other school. At the end, the success or failure of each wrestler earns points for his team; and at the end, the team with the most points wins.  

In a single day, from 9 a.m. -5 p.m., BHHS had 42 players in three teams (varsity, junior varsity 1 and JV2) wrestle in 210 matches at the Chaminade Wrestling Tournament at Chaminade High School in West Hills last month.

High school sports Web  sites were predicting Beverly Hills to lose to undefeated league leader, Culver City, 48-14, (last year the Normans lost 57-27). Facing a team as powerful as the Centaurs, the matchup promised to be “thrilling” (the band even played Michael Jackson’s hit at halftime) and bittersweet as all the senior players were honored  along with their parents before the kickoff.

The Normans scored first and on the game’s opening drive, with a five-yard slant pass from junior quarterback Josh Newman to senior receiver Daniel Bradbury.  Culver City followed up with a 25-yard field goal, making the first quarter score 7-3, Normans.

Beverly High students wearing orange T-shirts reading “feel the glow” and wielding glow sticks help fill the packed Nickoll Field stadium for last Friday’s homecoming game.

The Madrigals sang the national anthem before the game, and at halftime, with the stadium lights off, the sticks and T-shirts glowed brightly in the dark. 

The BHHS marching band took the field for a crowd-pleasing performance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. This was followed by performances from the cheerleaders and part of the Dance Company, AP Possee.

The JEM (Jewish Educa-tional Movement) charity basketball league's third season came to a close at The JEM Community Center (former Beverly Hills YMCA) Thursday night, where the crown was taken from the two-time reigning champion “White” team by the “Purple” team in front of more than 300 fans.

JEM Basketball charity league, comprised of young Los Angeles-area Jewish professionals, together with the youngest rabbi of Beverly Hills, Yossi Illulian, once again put together an exciting season closer, complete with a professional photographer and live DJ who kept the mostly young crowd mingling throughout the night.

A frustrated Norman football team lost to Los Angeles’ Hamilton High, 42-12, last Friday.

Quarterback Cameron Countryman contributed both the Norman’s scores, and he  and wide receiver Daniel Bradbury were singled out by Coach Donald Paysinger for their contibutions.

A 50-yard-screen pass to A.J. Fortier for a first-quarter touchdown brought the game to just under the Yankees lead at 7-6.

The Normans couldn’t stop the Yankees next 35-point run until Countryman’s 45-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run.

The BHHS boys’ and girls’ soccer programs,with the help of the BHHS service learning program, will hold a fundraiser Saturday at the school to help find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological disease that affects 2.5 million individuals worldwide, including more than 400,000 Americans. It is most prevalent among young adults, especially young women . It is a debilitating disease without a known cure.

Fresh off its runner-up finish at the 2009 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship, Washington University in St. Louis had three student-athletes named to the 2009 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Central Region Team, as announced by the Association.

Caryn Rosoff, (Harvard-Westlake) was named to the first team

Rosoff will conclude her career as one of the top scorers in school history. She earned 2009 UAA MVP honors after finishing the season with 11 goals and six assists for 28 points.

Senior forward Caryn Rosoff (Harvard-Westlake) was named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Most Valuable Player to highlight seven Washington University in St. Louis student-athletes who were named to the all-UAA women’s soccer team, as announced by the association.

Freshman goalkeeper Clara Jaques (Harvard-Westlake) earned UAA Rookie of the Year honors.

A game that saw great individual plays, especially from senior players, along with great team play, added up to a shut out of the Morningside  Monarchs last Fri-day, 31-0 at Coleman Field in Inglewood.

The Norman’s first points came in the first quarter when senior Willy Wood scored on a 25-yard field goal.

The second quarter saw a 20- yard touchdown pass to the goal line from junior quarterback Josh Newman to senior receiver Daniel Bradbury, bringing the score to 10-0.   

The first half ended with an interception by senior safety Markus Silbiger.

The Normans were the first to light the score board in last Friday’s hard-fought heartbreaker against Santa Monica at Nickoll Field.

A four-yard run by  junior AJ Fortier, set up by a 50-yard run on a fumble recovered by junior Matt Yashar set the Normans in motion.

The Vikings quickly responded by tying the score.  

The next BHHS touchdown was in the second quarter—a five-yard run by senior Jeremy Bruce.  

In the third quarter, the Normans extended their lead to 21-7 with a one-yard touchdown run, again by Bruce, set up on a 60-yard pass from junior quarterback Josh Newman to sophomore Cameron Countryman.

The Normans didn’t have any trouble scoring in their 17-0 victory last Friday against the Desert Hot Springs Eagles.

The first half touchdown was a 45-year run by tight end Greg Townsend. 

In the second half, it was  quarterback Cameron Country-man, set up by a catch to the three-yard line by senior wide receiver Daniel Bradbury.

Two local athletes have returned from the recent 18th World Maccabiah Games in Israel with medals to show for their efforts.

Ari Monosson, named to the USA track and field team for the third time, was a first-time medalist with a gold in the 4 X 400m and a silver in the 4 x 100m. In the 1-17 age division, Sean Fatoorechi won a silver medal in karate.